Assistant Director, Quality, Safety & Compliance

Princeton University; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 102,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Princeton University is seeking an Assistant Director, Quality, Safety & Compliance to strengthen Campus Dining’s standards across residential dining, retail, and catering. This role partners with unit managers, Human Resources, Environmental Health and Safety, and culinary leaders to ensure consistent practice, effective coaching, and data-informed follow-up.

The incumbent leads quality assurance, safety, training, and emergency preparedness programs, develops actionable plans, and delivers

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree with 5–7 years in food service, hospitality, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Campus Dining quality assurance program across residential, retail, and catering.
• Conduct audits, reviews, and trend analyses to identify improvement opportunities.
• Prepare reports and dashboards for leadership highlighting performance and risks.
• Lead or support a quality and safety working group to share best practices.

Skills

Quality assurance

Data analysis

Training delivery

Communication

Project management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's degree

HACCP Certification

Lean Six Sigma Certification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Quality management systems

Job description

Overview

The Assistant Director, Quality, Safety & Compliance is responsible for strengthening Campus Dining’s operational standards, service consistency, safety practices, and employee development programs. Reporting to the Director of Administration, Quality, & Safety, the Assistant Director, Quality, Safety, & Compliance develops, implements, monitors, and continuously improves quality assurance, food safety, workplace safety, training, and compliance programs across Campus Dining locations. This role partners closely with unit managers, culinary leaders, residential and retail dining teams, catering, Human Resources, Environmental Health and Safety, and other campus partners to ensure that standards are clearly defined, consistently practiced, and supported through effective coaching, documentation, and data-informed follow-up.

The Assistant Director fosters a culture grounded in respect for individuals, passion for service, continuous learning and growth, service excellence, efficiency, effectiveness, and safety. The incumbent uses observations, audits, incident trends, service feedback, training records, and operational data to identify improvement opportunities, recommend practical solutions, and support consistent execution of Campus Dining standards.

This role represents Campus Dining in cross-functional meetings, supports department-wide initiatives, and may act as a representative for the department in matters related to quality, safety, training, compliance, and operational readiness.

Responsibilities

Quality Assurance

• Develop, implement, and maintain a Campus Dining quality assurance program that supports consistent standards across residential dining, retail, and catering.
• Conduct routine operational audits, service observations, and standards reviews related to food quality, presentation, sanitation, service readiness, customer experience, and compliance.
• Review, track, and analyze data from audits, customer feedback, incident reports, training records, and operational observations to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Partner with Campus Dining leadership to develop practical action plans, follow-up processes, and accountability measures that support continuous improvement.
• Establish, document, and communicate standard operating procedures, checklists, inspection tools, and related resources that support consistent operations.
• Support managers in addressing quality or service gaps through coaching, retraining, documentation, and coordinated follow-up.
• Prepare reports, dashboards, and summaries for Campus Dining leadership that highlight performance trends, risks, corrective actions, and progress against goals.
• Chair or support a Campus Dining quality and safety working group to review trends, share best practices, and advance department-wide improvements.

Food & Workplace Safety, Compliance, and Emergency Preparedness

• Partner with Environmental Health and Safety, Dining leadership, and unit managers to support safe work practices, regulatory compliance, and timely follow-up on identified risks.
• Support food safety and sanitation programs, including temperature monitoring, allergen awareness, cleaning and sanitation standards, storage practices, labeling, and corrective-action documentation.
• Monitors compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.
• Conduct or support inspections, readiness reviews, and follow-up activities related to food safety, workplace safety, equipment condition, and operational compliance.
• Develop safety briefs, huddle topics, job aids, and other communications that reinforce safe work practices and department standards.
• Maintain and support documentation related to safety, sanitation, required training, standard operating procedures, corrective actions, and compliance follow-up.
• Analyze incident reports, inspection findings, and operational trends to recommend preventive actions and targeted improvements.
• Leads the development and implementation of Campus Dining emergency response plans, including staff training and drills.
• Ensures emergency equipment, policies and procedures, and facility security measures are in place and fully operational.
• Coordinates required inspections of emergency systems and equipment.
• Serves as Campus Dining’s Emergency Coordinator, as designated by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).

Training and Development

• Develop, coordinate, deliver, and continuously improve training programs for new and existing Campus Dining employees, including orientation, required compliance training, job-specific skills training, service standards, and refresher training.
• Partner with managers, chefs, supervisors, Human Resources, and campus partners to identify training needs and align learning plans with operational priorities.
• Create and maintain training materials, guides, checklists, presentations, and documentation that support consistent onboarding and skill development.
• Track training completion, maintain records, and provide timely reporting to ensure department readiness and compliance.
• Use audit findings, incident trends, customer feedback, and operational priorities to recommend targeted training and retraining plans.
• Support employee development by identifying opportunities to strengthen technical skills, service practices, leadership readiness, safety awareness, and operational consistency.

Sustainability

• Partner with Office of Sustainability to ensure Campus Dining’s sustainability goals are aligned and support the University goals.
• Responsible for monitoring progress towards sustainability goals.
• Review and recommend changes to current sustainability goals.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of five to seven years of progressively responsible experience in food service, hospitality, dining operations, quality assurance, training, safety, compliance, or a related operational environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, service standards, and operational compliance in a food service or hospitality setting.
• Experience with quality assurance audits, corrective-action tracking, training platforms, food production systems, or operational reporting tools.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, identify trends, prepare reports, and recommend practical corrective actions.
• Experience developing, coordinating, and delivering training programs for frontline, supervisory, or operational teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to create clear training materials, procedures, reports, and presentations.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, and follow-up activities in a complex operating environment.
• Expert skills in Microsoft Suite
• Experience in data analytics and reporting
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion, respect, service excellence, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to work independently within established department and University objectives while exercising sound judgment, discretion, and diplomacy.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective working relationships with diverse employees, managers, campus partners, vendors, and stakeholders.
• Ability to influence, coach, and guide others to support consistent standards and shared operational goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree
• HACCP Certification
• Lean Six Sigma Certification
• Experience implementing quality assurance programs
• Experience with food safety technology systems

________________________________

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.

If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.

Standard Weekly Hours

36.25

Eligible for Overtime

No

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Probationary Period

180 days

Essential Services Personnel (see policy for detail)

No

Physical Capacity Exam Required

No

Valid Driver’s License Required

No

Experience Level

Mid-Senior Level#LI-GR1

Salary Range

$102,000 to $117,000